[[Music/BruceSpringsteen This heartland rocker]] [[TearJerker can move people to tears]], whether or not they live in [[{{Joisey}} New Jersey]].----* "[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZ-Ifwiz6Zw Devil's Arcade]]".* Also, "Streets of Philadelphia". "The night has fallen/I'm lyin'awake/I can feel myself fading away/So receive me, brother, with your faithless kiss, or will we leave each other alone like this/On the streets of Philadelphia..."* As well as "Atlantic City", especially the line 'Maybe everything that dies one day comes back'.* Gotta give some points to "The River", which probably single-handedly earned him the nickname of "Creator/JohnSteinbeck in black leather".* Then there is "[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xokeiep6yHU Devils and Dust]]". The video is especially powerful.* Along with "[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcya8uKNWn4 Lonesome Day]]". For all that [[LyricalDissonance it sounds like a rousing anthem]], it's actually from the POV of the relatives of those who died in 9/11.* The album ''The Rising'' can utterly wreck anyone who was touched by 9/11. Particular mention goes to "Empty Sky" -- particularly the lyric "I want a kiss from your lips, I want an eye for an eye... I woke up this morning to the empty sky..."** Not to mention "Into The Fire" and "You're Missing".** The title track. It's about a man going up into one of the towers to rescue trapped people, and the gorgeous melody just adds to it.** And "Into the Fire" is about a man grieving the loss of his wife, who went "into the fire" on that day. The story of the unrecognized [[http://rense.com/general19/zero.htm women heroes of 9/11]] is a [[http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/09/05/beyond.bravery.soledad.notebook/index.html tearjerker in its own right]].** And then, right after the title track there's "Paradise", an utterly ''devastating'' piece about a suicide bomber. * Some someone who lives in New York City, "City of Ruins" can be a very powerful tearjerker..** On the 2012 tour, Bruce uses this song to introduce the band. After he introduced everybody at the show, he asked "Are we missing anybody?" He didn't need to mention Clarence Clemons' name; 65,000 people held up their hands and ''bowed'' towards the stage.* A live version of "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)" performed right after the death of E Street member Danny Federici. Right before they start the song, Bruce says, "We'd better get this right...someone's watching."** On a related note, "The Last Carnival" was written as a tribute to Federici. "We'll be riding the train without you tonight/the train that keeps on moving, its black smoke scorching the evening sky/a million stars shining above us like every soul living and dead/has been gathered together by God to sing a hymn over your bones..." It's even more poignant if you know that Federici's son Jason plays the accordion in the song.* "Born in the [=USA=]", which is about the treatment of the Vietnam War soldiers upon returning to America.* "Brilliant Disguise", about a married couple who stopped loving each other.* "My Hometown" - complete with a {{Downer Ending}}.* "Cover Me" is actually a pretty lively song which, if you're in the right mood, could be cheerful. However, those who are a state of depression may [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation interpret the lyrics as a request for assisted suicide]]. It would not help.* The album version of "No Surrender" seems to be a generic rebellion song. The live version, however, [[LyricalDissonance sounds a whole lot like an elegy]].* "[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQMqWAiWPMs 41 Shots (American Skin)]]". Wow. Doubles as CrowningMusicOfAwesome.* "Highway Patrolman". It hits even harder if you've seen the movie that Sean Penn made based on the song, ''[[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102116/ The Indian Runner]]''.* "Youngstown" - a powerful story of not just death of an industrial town, but the whole steel industry in USA, and the collapse of the American working class and their dreams. The final words, said by the mouth of an old steelworker, are true tear-jerkers:-->When I die I want no part of Heaven; I would not do the Heavens' work well\\I pray the Devil to take me to stand at the fiery furnaces of Hell* "Gypsy Biker," about the narrator's brother being killed in Iraq.* "Bobby Jean." When he says that he wants to say "I miss you baby, good luck goodbye, Bobby Jean..." not crying isn't an option.* "Downbound Train." The DownerEnding is sad as all hell.* "Drive All Night" will really get you, especially anyone who's ever had a broken heart that just wouldn't heal.-->When I lost you honey sometimes I think I lost my guts too* "Wreck on the Highway" is a tearjerker song in which the narrator finds the victim of a car crash, who presumably died right in front of him after pleading for help. After watching the man carted away to a hospital the narrator delivers the saddest line of the song:-->I thought of a girlfriend, or a young wife, and a state trooper knocking in the middle of the night\\To say your baby died in a wreck on the highway* "My Father's House" : the narrator has a dream about reuniting with his estranged father. He awakes and rushes out to his father's house to repair the rift between them.-->I walked up the steps and stood on the porch \\A woman I didn't recognize came and spoke to me through a chained door \\I told her my story and who I'd come for \\She said "I'm sorry, son, but no one by that name lives here anymore"* "Land of Hope and Dreams" is a hymn with an age-old theme, and the band means every word, every note of it. In [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWOZotnFhLA this performance from the 2000 "Reunion" show in New York]] Bruce himself starts to cry.* "Wrecking Ball", using the [[ChildhoodMemoryDemolitionTeam demolition of Giants Stadium]] as a metaphor for how life will rob you of all your illusions.-->And [[FromBadToWorse hard times come]], and [[HopeSpot hard times go]], and [[YankTheDogsChain hard times come, and hard times go]], and [[FinaglesLaw hard times come, and hard times go]], and [[OverlyLongGag hard times come, and hard times go]], and [[CrapsackWorld hard times come, and hard times go]]-->Yeah [[KickTheDog just to come again]]-->- [[DefiantToTheEnd Bring on your wrecking ball!]] * "The Wall" from 2014's ''High Hopes.'' The narrator visits the Vietnam Memorial to pay tribute to a good friend and fellow musician; it's been years since his friend died in the war, but he's still heartbroken and angry about the loss and the general futility of the war.-->Cigarettes and a bottle of beer-->This poem that I wrote for you-->This black stone and these hard tears-->Are all I got left now of you...----